Anglian Energy Planning Alliance

WHY IS IT HAPPENING?

The East Anglian coast is being promoted by government as an important energy generating area,
with its long coastline identified as an ideal location for offshore wind and for nuclear generated
power. While all in favour of clean energy, local communities are dismayed at the lack of strategy
for its development, delivery and expansion. In the absence of appropriate regulation and co-
ordination, private energy companies have the power to make decisions about where and how to build onshore infrastructure, based purely on what makes most economic sense to them regardless of the environmental damage or the social impact of their actions on local communities. National Grid, which despite its commercial ventures also has a regulatory role, is directing huge industrial projects to sites along the Suffolk Coast Nature Corridor and failing to protect the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty And the energy companies are ignoring the very real concerns voiced by local communities and environmental bodies about the cumulative impact of all these infrastructure projects.

SO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

The government must take a role in strategic planning, ensuring that piecemeal, uncoordinated energy developments cannot continue. We must call upon politicians to act today and work with National Grid, OFGEM and the energy companies to produce a more cohesive plan for the delivery of renewable energy that protects the environment and responds to community concerns. In the meantime, windfarm infrastructure should be sited on brownfield sites such as the defunct nuclear site at Bradwell in Essex with its easy connection to the electricity grid, and all the viable alternatives to massive onshore building must be enforced. Otherwise miles of this beautiful part of Suffolk will be lost forever.

It’s not too late to do something. Please help us to #stoptheenergymadness

“If you were looking for a place to build a nuclear power station you could not have chosen a moreenvironmentally sensitive spot.” Philip Ridley, Head of Planning & Coastal Management, East Suffolk Council. BBC News, 7 July 2019